The Classic Touch: Lessons in Leadership from Homer to Hemingway [Paperback]

John K. Clemens (Author), Douglas F. Mayer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0809227975 | ISBN-13: 978-0809227976 | Publication Date: October 11, 1999 | Edition: Revised

"We all think that management is a twentieth-century, newly invented skill, but its roots go back thousands of years. This book is essential reading to learn that we cannont deal with today's problems without understanding yesterday's." -- Leonard A. Lauder, President, Estee Lauder Companies "A classic way to solve business problems." -- U.S. News & World Report In Homer's day, a hostile takeover meant blood and arrows, not mergers and layoffs. However, The Iliad is still a valuable guide for steering the right course in today's tricky business world. Shakespeare's King Lear has more to say about succession, delegation, and decentralization than do most management texts. And Thoreau's "Walden" offers astute observations on what can happen when an organization gets too big. Captivating and instructive, this book is the first to tap the collective wisdom found in the classic works of Western literature and apply it to the problems of modern managers and leaders. Drawing on sources that range from Homer's time to Arthur Miller's, this treasure trove of passages and stories offers invaluable advice for solving today's most difficult business dilemmas. It addresses such issues as building a team and keeping it together, managing an acquisition once it's in place, eliminating daily distractions, and trusting your intuition. Whether you are reading these works for the first time or are revisiting old favorites, The Classic Touch offers you a rich understanding of the art of leading. John K. Clemens, professor of management at Hartwick College, is the founder and executive director of the Hartwick Humanities in Management Institute, an organization that conducts leadership seminars for emerging leaders in Fortune 500 companies. He is also the coauthor of Movies to Manage By: Lessons in Leadership from Great Films. Douglas F. Mayer is the former chairman of the economics and management department at Hartwick College. He is the coauthor of Shakespeare and Management--Othello, Macbeth, and Lear: Lessons About Behavior in Organizations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John K. Clemens, professor of management at Hartwick College, is the founder and executive director of the Hartwick Humanities in Management Institute, an organization that publishes leadership cases and provides programs for emerging leaders in Fortune 500 companies. His articles have appeared in Fortune and the Wall Street Journal.

Douglas F. Mayer is the former chairman of the economics and management department at Hartwick College. He is the coauthor of Shakespeare and Management--Othello, Macbeth, and Lear: Lessons About Behavior in Organizations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Contemporary Books; Revised edition (October 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809227975
• ISBN-13: 978-0809227976
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Matrix of Correlations, May 3, 2000

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Classic Touch: Lessons in Leadership from Homer to Hemingway (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this book so much that I re-read it within a week. Then I went back and re-read all of the classics it discusses. The core concept is intriguing: Re-visit the major works of various authors (from Homer to Hemingway) to uncover lessons in leadership. The authors found them in abundance.

For example: The importance of understanding the dynamics of teamwork (Agamemnon and Achilles); knowing the right questions to ask...and the best way to ask them (Socrates); managing change while adapting to new realities (Ajax); the complexities (and difficulties) of management succession (King Lear); making unpleasant but necessary decisions (Machiavelli); Simplify! Simplify! (Henry David Thoreau); and forging consensus during a crisis (Hemingway's Robert Jordan). The authors also examine the works of Plutarch, Pericles, Chaucer, Castiglione, Edmund Burke, Charles Darwin, and Arthur Miller. Throughout this highly readable book, the authors also examine a number of corporations which have either applied various leadership lessons with great success or experienced serious problems for failing to do so.

Who will derive the greatest benefit from this book? I highly recommend it to those in positions of leadership who appreciate world literature (albeit in translation) and are constantly seeking different perspectives on the marketplace in which they and their respective organizations compete. Also, to young executives whose professional reading -- to date -- has been limited to various business publications and (perhaps) to the latest "hot" business books. Finally, to those recent college and university graduates with liberal arts degrees who (erroneously) think that great world literature and the free enterprise system are incompatible. On the contrary, as Clemens and Mayer suggest, they are whole cloth...and many of their common threads are worthy of thoughtful consideration.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, really helpful, October 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Classic Touch: Lessons in Leadership from Homer to Hemingway (Paperback)

I picked up this book because of its really beautiful cover. I love the Hemingway illustration. But I love what's inside as well. Clemens and Mayer just write with such clarity and good humor, making this a joy to read. And what they say really makes sense for me, as I'm a manager of a small company that is going through a lot of transition. I'm going to get their other book, Movies to Manage By.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Approach Keeps the Pages Turning, January 9, 2001

By 

JB (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Classic Touch: Lessons in Leadership from Homer to Hemingway (Paperback)

Many books on "leadership" fail to hit their mark because they are too abstract and can't maintain the reader's interest. That is not the case with this book. By using characters from classic literature to illustrate leadership characteristics the authors manage to find a unique balance between substance and style that really works.

The leadership lessons from the classics are still applicable today and this book gives them a fresh perspective by relating them to the modern business environment. The authors also complement the examples from classic literature with some excellent examples of recent management approaches. The result is terrific.